IPVanish

If you have been searching for a top VPN provider, you have likely heard about one of the most trusted names in the industry: IPVanish. Founded in 2010, IPVanish brings over 15 years of IT experience to the table, and it shows. For starters, IPVanish, by far, offers more connectivity options than any other VPN service provider – 14,000 IPs on 135+ servers in 59 countries. In conjunction with the vast server options, they grew a solid feature list you would expect from a tier-1 VPN provider. Optimal speed, no restrictions or limits, multiple connection options via desktop or mobile apps, etc. – IPVanish likely offers everything you are looking for. However, the most recognized theme of their website is security. IPVanish destroys the competition with their supreme security measures. Couple that with quality support and competitive pricing, and you have a top VPN service.

Features

Due to IPVanish’s heavy security focus, it is rather hard to figure out what features are offered. This is a shame because they deliver a wide range of features to their customers, such as:

Privacy

If privacy and security are your main concerns, look no further. IPVanish established 3 main “no’s” in regard to security: no hackers, no firewalls and no government. So, how do they go about protecting your online activity from these? There are many methods used, including the use of 256-bit encryption. However, one of the main things IPVanish focuses on is preventing deep packet inspection. Internet service providers will generally log your activity while limiting your speed. This is called deep packet encryption which IPVanish stops dead in its tracks. Their security paranoia carries over to their mobile apps as well. It does not matter if you are using public Wi-Fi; IPVanish secures your data over any Wi-Fi or portable hotspot. Overall, you will hard pressed to find better complete security.

IPVanish Security

Pricing

The pricing option they offer are very straightforward. The one month plan is $10. If you choose the 3 month plan, the price is $26.99 which averages out to $8.99/month. Their best value however, is in their one year plan for $77.99. This comes out to $6.49/month, once of the lowest monthly rates we found among all the providers we reviewed, and certainly the lowest among those providers we recommend. They offer their customers a full 7 day money back guarantee, should they decide that they are unsatisfied with the service, so there is no risk in choosing the lower cost, long term plan.

Speed

IPVanish delivers excellent performance results. We tested their VPN using Speed Test on 4 separate occasions and found no slow down. Furthermore, IPVanish had a reputation for being the go to VPN service for streaming sites. We tested them as well on our Netflix subscription and the results were fantastic. We have 100 mb/s speed in which we generally see between 80-87mb/s download speed. Using IPVanish, we consistently saw between 78-83mb/s which is a negligible difference at most. It is clear that IPVanish does not limit your bandwidth in any way.

Ease of Use

The entire sign up process is painless and is done by entering a few details such as your e-mail address and payment method. Once complete, you will be sent an activation e-mail from them. Follow a few easy steps, including downloading the client, and you will be all set up within a few short minutes. The dashboard is set up for beginners with no prior VPN experience. It has 4 main tabs which include ‘File,’ ‘Preferences,’ ‘Connection’ and ‘Support.’ All tasks can easily be found within these 4 sections, such as choosing your preferred protocol (OpenVPN, UDP, TCP, etc.). Both the iOS and Android mobile apps are equally easy to use (perhaps even easier than the desktop client). Both apps direct you straight to the server page (by country & city) for you to choose. One main standout point about the IPVanish mobile apps is that you can see your data usage through an on screen graph.

IPVanish OpenVPN Windows Setup

Customer Support

IPVanish is a conundrum when it comes to customer support. On the one hand, they offer live chat and phone support, though both run 9AM-5PM EST only. However, they claim their e-mail support is 24/7. We personally tested this whereby we sent an e-mail at 1AM EST. We received a response within the hour, so it seems their claim holds weight. Additionally, their support reps are IT professionals with years of experience, specifically in regard to the VPN market. They were able to easily answer in depth VPN questions.

Summary

IPVanish may be considered a relatively new VPN service since they were technically founded in 2010, however the wealth of knowledge the employees bring makes it undoubtedly a top VPN provider. While they offer attractive features and usability, great speed and quality support, clearly their primary focus is on delivering top level security. While home users will love this service, the IPVanish software is astounding for companies of all sizes.